Former Gators praise Roper's work with offense

Florida offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, left, and head coach Will Muschamp talk during opening day of spring practice at Sanders Practice Field on March 19.

Doug Finger/Staff photographer

By Zach AbolverdiCorrespondent

Published: Wednesday, July 9, 2014 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, July 8, 2014 at 8:28 p.m.

Though Florida coach Will Muschamp is on the hot seat, few doubt that his hiring of coordinator Kurt Roper will improve UF's offense.

Several former Gators are of that opinion after seeing Roper's system installed in the spring.

Roper worked wonders with Duke and groomed quarterback Eli Manning at Ole Miss into a No. 1 overall draft pick.

“I definitely love the offense,” former UF quarterback Shane Matthews said. “The few spring practices that I attended, I really liked the way coach Roper worked with his quarterbacks. He's really big on fundamentals and the little things when it comes to playing the position, which I hadn't seen around here basically since coach (Steve) Spurrier left.

“I think to win you have to be pretty solid at quarterback. Any time you lose your starter and have to rely on backups, your chances of winning go down tremendously no matter what level you're playing at. But I think coach Roper will develop Jeff Driskel, take what he does well and let him go play. It's that simple.”

Simplicity is the name of the game with Roper's spread offense. In addition to running a no-huddle, uptempo system, he also makes life a lot easier for his quarterbacks by putting less on their plate before the snap and during the play.

“He's going to split the field a lot with progressions and pre-snap reads, which is going back to the traditional way of running an offense,” former Florida QB Doug Johnson said. “It will let Jeff to just use the God-given ability that he has instead of trying to overthink things.

“So hopefully we'll see Jeff progress as a player by anticipating rather than just reacting, and I think he can do that. So this system's just going to have more pre-snap reads to cut the field in half and keep progressions on one side of the field or the other instead of progressions that go all the way across the field. I think that's going to help Jeff a lot.”

Roper's method of designing and executing plays is what allows his offenses to move at such a fast pace. He wants to snap the ball on every down before the play clock reaches 18 seconds and has previously said UF will essentially run a two-minute offense throughout the game.

“When you run a two-minute offense,” former Gators receiver Travis McGriff said, “what allows you to go fast is having a minimal number of plays and a system to communicate between quarterbacks, linemen and skill players through hand signals and audibles. It's a very efficient way of communicating a small amount of material, and it tires out the defense.

“That's what he's trying to do. He has simplified things, which sometimes is just what the doctor ordered for players. The more simple it is, the less you're thinking and the more you play fast and do things decisively.”

That increase in pace will not only result in more offensive plays per game and likely better production, but it should affect the opposite side of the ball and take pressure off the defenders.

“I think the thing more so than just the scheme is the energy level coach Roper brings to not only the offense but the team,” former Florida wide receiver Chris Doering said. “If you were out there during the spring, you saw the pace much quicker on the offensive field, but that was carrying over to the defense as well. I think there's a buzz and an excitement around this team, something it hasn't had before under Will Muschamp.

“It's very difficult when you have a one-sided team. Defense has dominated since Muschamp's been around, and they've always been the ones that had to bail out the offense. They've had to win low-scoring games. So it's exciting for the defense now when they think about some of the stuff the offense may be able to do to complement their strengths.”

Former UF quarterback Noah Brindise said he thinks the Gators can make a drastic improvement on offense this season if they stay healthy and execute Roper's scheme. His offensive philosophy is different than what Muschamp had in mind when he first arrived at Florida in 2011, and Brindise credits him for changing.

“I have 100-percent confidence in coach Muschamp,” he said. “I like him as a person and as a football coach, and he's made some hard, tough decisions. Hopefully this year those decisions will pay off and the offense will turn around. I give him a ton of credit for revamping his thought process. As a head coach, sometimes it's hard to admit that maybe he made a mistake early on with what he thought his offense should be, and he's rectified it. He's made a great hire with Kurt Roper and I look forward to improvement in the future.”

<p>Though Florida coach Will Muschamp is on the hot seat, few doubt that his hiring of coordinator Kurt Roper will improve UF's offense. </p><p>Several former Gators are of that opinion after seeing Roper's system installed in the spring.</p><p>Roper worked wonders with Duke and groomed quarterback Eli Manning at Ole Miss into a No. 1 overall draft pick. </p><p>“I definitely love the offense,” former UF quarterback Shane Matthews said. “The few spring practices that I attended, I really liked the way coach Roper worked with his quarterbacks. He's really big on fundamentals and the little things when it comes to playing the position, which I hadn't seen around here basically since coach (Steve) Spurrier left.</p><p>“I think to win you have to be pretty solid at quarterback. Any time you lose your starter and have to rely on backups, your chances of winning go down tremendously no matter what level you're playing at. But I think coach Roper will develop Jeff Driskel, take what he does well and let him go play. It's that simple.”</p><p>Simplicity is the name of the game with Roper's spread offense. In addition to running a no-huddle, uptempo system, he also makes life a lot easier for his quarterbacks by putting less on their plate before the snap and during the play. </p><p>“He's going to split the field a lot with progressions and pre-snap reads, which is going back to the traditional way of running an offense,” former Florida QB Doug Johnson said. “It will let Jeff to just use the God-given ability that he has instead of trying to overthink things. </p><p>“So hopefully we'll see Jeff progress as a player by anticipating rather than just reacting, and I think he can do that. So this system's just going to have more pre-snap reads to cut the field in half and keep progressions on one side of the field or the other instead of progressions that go all the way across the field. I think that's going to help Jeff a lot.”</p><p>Roper's method of designing and executing plays is what allows his offenses to move at such a fast pace. He wants to snap the ball on every down before the play clock reaches 18 seconds and has previously said UF will essentially run a two-minute offense throughout the game.</p><p>“When you run a two-minute offense,” former Gators receiver Travis McGriff said, “what allows you to go fast is having a minimal number of plays and a system to communicate between quarterbacks, linemen and skill players through hand signals and audibles. It's a very efficient way of communicating a small amount of material, and it tires out the defense. </p><p>“That's what he's trying to do. He has simplified things, which sometimes is just what the doctor ordered for players. The more simple it is, the less you're thinking and the more you play fast and do things decisively.”</p><p>That increase in pace will not only result in more offensive plays per game and likely better production, but it should affect the opposite side of the ball and take pressure off the defenders.</p><p>“I think the thing more so than just the scheme is the energy level coach Roper brings to not only the offense but the team,” former Florida wide receiver Chris Doering said. “If you were out there during the spring, you saw the pace much quicker on the offensive field, but that was carrying over to the defense as well. I think there's a buzz and an excitement around this team, something it hasn't had before under Will Muschamp.</p><p>“It's very difficult when you have a one-sided team. Defense has dominated since Muschamp's been around, and they've always been the ones that had to bail out the offense. They've had to win low-scoring games. So it's exciting for the defense now when they think about some of the stuff the offense may be able to do to complement their strengths.”</p><p>Former UF quarterback Noah Brindise said he thinks the Gators can make a drastic improvement on offense this season if they stay healthy and execute Roper's scheme. His offensive philosophy is different than what Muschamp had in mind when he first arrived at Florida in 2011, and Brindise credits him for changing. </p><p>“I have 100-percent confidence in coach Muschamp,” he said. “I like him as a person and as a football coach, and he's made some hard, tough decisions. Hopefully this year those decisions will pay off and the offense will turn around. I give him a ton of credit for revamping his thought process. As a head coach, sometimes it's hard to admit that maybe he made a mistake early on with what he thought his offense should be, and he's rectified it. He's made a great hire with Kurt Roper and I look forward to improvement in the future.”</p>